The present invention relates to footwear, and more particularly to an adaptive footwear construction including a support cage configured to wrap portions of an upper and provide enhanced stability.
Footwear is frequently designed to best address competing characteristics, for example, fit, stability, weight, protection and cushion. Many times, one characteristic is sacrificed for another, leaving the footwear less than ideal. For example, where stability to the wearer is paramount, a shoe might be built with extra structure to promote that stability. In turn, this can sacrifice fit, because the extra structure makes the footwear less adaptable to the many unique foot shapes of different wearers.
Further, where such stabilized footwear are constructed with multiple overlays or panels that are stitched together, these overlays, and the resultant footwear, are frequently difficult to shape to the large variety of compound curves and contours of certain feet, let alone many differently shaped feet. Thus, while the footwear provides structural stability to the wearer, the footwear frequently provides a less than satisfactory fit.
Another challenge to making well-fitted footwear is the fact that every foot, of every shape and size, changes its shape during a wearer's stride. If a shoe is inelastic, such as is the case with many structurally reinforced footwear, then the changing shape of the foot will not match the unitary shape of the interior of the footwear throughout the gait cycle. This can cause irritation, discomfort and in some cases can detrimentally alter the wearer's gait.
Thus, there remains room for improvement in the area of producing footwear that provides stability, adaptively fits multiple foot shapes and dynamically conforms to a wearer's moving foot.